Swords emerge from Mount Hua, sweeping across the heavens from the world of Swordsman.

"I believe in your abilities."

Shen Luoyan, Xu Shiji, and the others also stepped forward to comfort him: "In the past few days, we have been very impressed by Brother Li's insight and ability. Brother Li is more than qualified to be the commander of an army, so there is no need for you to refuse."

Li Jing then stopped refusing and nodded in agreement: "In that case, Li Jing will accept the task without hesitation."

Yue Zhuoqun nodded in satisfaction, walked to the main seat and sat down again, his expression becoming solemn as he said, "Li Jing, Xu Shiji, Pei Renji, listen to my command!"

"Yes, sir!" The three men dared not be careless and knelt on one knee to receive orders.

"Order Li Jing to lead the First Army as the main force, Xu Shiji to lead the Second Army to provide flank support, and Pei Renji to lead the Third Army to garrison key passes in Wagang. Three days later, the army will regroup and set off to capture Xingluocang!"

"The last general takes command!"

……

With Yue Zhuoqun's order, the entire Wagang was mobilized.

The battle to capture Xingluocang was led by Li Jing, which was both a test for him and an opportunity to make a name for himself.

Li Jing, commanding troops for the first time, dared not be careless, and advanced steadily and surely by deploying his troops in formation.

The army marched west from Xingyang and occupied Shangjie half a month later, advancing directly towards Hulao Pass in Chenggao County.

Hulao Pass is located between Gongxian and Xingyang, and is an important pass for westward expansion.

Once Hulao Pass is captured, Xingluo Granary, located in Gong County, will be within reach, and there will be no more obstacles to overcome in advancing on Luoyang.

This demonstrates the importance of Hulao Pass.

Yang Guang, who was trapped in Jiangdu, dared not be careless when he learned that Wagang had attacked Xingluocang. He immediately ordered Liu Wengong, the Tiger General, to lead 25,000 infantry and cavalrymen from Luoyang to garrison Hulao Pass.

At the same time, an imperial edict was issued ordering elite troops from all over the country to rush to the aid, and Xue Shixiong was appointed as the commander-in-chief of this operation.

However, when Xue Shixiong's troops reached Qilijing in Hejian, they were ambushed and annihilated by Dou Jiande's Hebei uprising army.

Left with no other choice, Yang Guang appointed Wang Shichong as commander-in-chief, leading 20,000 elite Jianghuai soldiers to Luokou, where they joined forces with Liu Wengong, who was heading to Hulao Pass, to contain Wagang.

Unfortunately, their marching route was too far, and the distant water could not quench their immediate thirst.

Before Liu Wengong's army even arrived, Li Jing, with the help of several fierce generals who had taken the Dragon Elephant Pill, blasted open the gates of Hulao Pass.

After capturing Hulao Pass, they immediately rested on the spot.

When Liu Wengong's army arrived, exhausted and weary, Li Jing, who had been waiting in ambush, launched a surprise attack.

Fortunately, a significant portion of Liu Wengong's 25,000-strong army consisted of cavalry, which allowed him to escape with over 10,000 remaining soldiers. He then retreated 50 miles to regroup and defend against the enemy.

Having lost the strategic Hulao Pass, he had no chance of winning. After a difficult two months of resistance, he was completely wiped out by the combined armies of Li Jing and Xu Shiji.

This battle lasted for more than three months. Wagang not only successfully occupied Xingluocang, but also captured thousands of warhorses from Liu Wengong.

Li Jing became famous in one battle!

On the other side, in Luokou, Wang Shichong and Pei Renji fought several battles but did not gain much advantage.

Upon receiving news of Liu Wengong's demise and the fall of Xingluocang, he could only lead his 20,000-strong army, along with several other reinforcements, to retreat to Luoyang.

……

Wagang attacked Xingluocang, and other places were also not peaceful.

The Dongming Sect's Piaoxiang ship, heading inland, was attacked by the Haisha Gang and the Jukun Gang. Dugu Xiong, a master of the Dugu Clan, sneaked onto the ship while Shan Meixian and Shan Wanjing were in Pengcheng attending Li Shimin's banquet and stole the transaction ledger.

Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, under Li Shimin's instruction, also went to Piaoxiang to steal the account book and took it from him.

Afterwards, Kou Zhong gave Li Shimin the Li family's account books.

After obtaining the account book, Li Shimin returned to Taiyuan and used it as an excuse to persuade Li Yuan to rebel against the Sui Dynasty.

Li Yuan first allied with the Turks and installed Yang You, the grandson of Emperor Yang of Sui, as emperor. He then appointed himself Grand Chancellor and Prince of Tang, before launching an attack on the capital, Chang'an.

Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling took the Yuwen Clan's account books to Jiangdu and joined forces with the Dugu Clan to secretly inform Yang Guang that they wanted to avenge the great grudge of being hunted down by Yuwen Huaji and Fu Junzhuo being severely injured.

However, Yuwen Huaji had already placed spies around Yang Guang, and they preemptively led their troops into the Jiangdu Palace to kill Yang Guang.

When news of Yang Guang's death spread, the country was thrown into complete chaos.

Xiao Xian established Jiangling as his capital and proclaimed himself King of Liang. Many bandits, including Shen Liusheng, surrendered to him, and his army grew to tens of thousands.

Wang Shichong, who occupied Luoyang, supported Yang Tong, the Prince of Yue, as emperor and ordered Yang Tong to enfeoff him as the Duke of Zheng, giving him control of the military.

After Li Yuan occupied Chang'an, he immediately forced Yang You to abdicate in his favor and established the Tang Dynasty.

By the time these circumstances settled, it was already the end of the fourteenth year of the Daye era.

At this point, the Sui Dynasty was essentially declared extinct.

Chapter 185 In Luoyang City

After Yue Zhuoqun captured Xingluo Granary, he immediately opened the granary and distributed grain to stabilize public sentiment.

Although Yang Guang had long lost the hearts of the people, to ordinary people he was still the supreme emperor.

To put it nicely, Wagang was a righteous army rebelling against the imperial court; to put it bluntly, they were traitors.

No matter how strict Yue Zhuoqun's military discipline was, ordinary people still feared him like a tiger.

It wasn't until this time that the granaries were opened and grain was distributed that his good name began to spread among the people, earning him respect and love, and attracting countless able-bodied men to voluntarily join the army.

After Yang Guang's death, many powerful clans sent their talented students to serve in Wagang.

By the end of the fourteenth year of the Daye era, the Wagang territory had been well-managed, with political harmony and an army of 60,000.

The deal between Yue Zhuoqun, the Dongming faction, and the Pegasus Ranch has been initially agreed upon.

Shan Wanjing sent tens of thousands of suits of armor and weapons, as well as a hundred inland river warships, while Shang Xiuxun sent ten thousand warhorses.

Yue Zhuoqun divided these warhorses and equipment into three major legions, and each legion was further divided into three battalions.

The cavalry battalion has 5,000 men, the naval battalion has 5,000 men, and the infantry has 10,000 men.

After a period of training, the soldiers became proficient in using boats and horses and were capable of fighting. Yue Zhuoqun then issued another order to send troops to take Luoyang.

This time, he left only a small number of troops to guard the main camp, and sent the rest to the front line.

Li Jing advanced along the official road, while Xu Shiji and Pei Renji attacked from both sides along the Yellow River and the Luo River, respectively, directly threatening Yanshi, the front line of Luoyang.

Upon learning the news, Wang Shichong immediately dispatched an army of 60,000 to resist.

He now commands 100,000 troops, but apart from the 20,000 elite soldiers from Jianghuai that he brought with him, the rest are reinforcements from various places that were gathered on Yang Guang's orders. Their quality varies greatly, so how could they possibly be a match for the Wagang Army, which has cultivated the Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill?

Even though they outnumbered the Wagang Army, they didn't hold out for long.

In just over three months, Yanshi suffered a complete defeat.

Wang Shichong had no choice but to withdraw his troops, abandon the front lines, and focus all his efforts on defending Luoyang.

In March of the year following Yang Guang's death, the armies of Li Jing, Xu Shiji, and Pei Renji converged outside Luoyang.

Wang Shichong kept the city gates tightly shut and refused to fight. He also sent a trusted confidant to Chang'an to seek support from Li Yuan.

Li Yuan has stabilized the situation in Chang'an and opened up the line between Chang'an and Taiyuan.

To the north lies the territory of Liang Shidu, Guo Zihe, and Liu Wuzhou. These three, like him, have allied with the Turks, so it's not advisable to break ties for the time being.

To the west lie the two major powers of Xue Ju and Li Gui, and given the region's western location, he doesn't consider them suitable for the time being.

Apart from that, there are only two paths left for development.

First, cross the Qinling Mountains to conquer Hanzhong; second, cross the Tongguan Pass to conquer Henan.

Now that Wang Shichong is actively seeking help, it's practically an opportunity delivered to our doorstep. How could we possibly let it go?

He immediately dispatched Li Shimin with a large army to assist him.

However, his actions did not escape Yue Zhuoqun's notice.

Zhu Yuyan's disciple, Bai Qing'er, is currently by Li Yuan's side. Before Li Shimin's army has even set out, Bai Qing'er has already sent out the news.

Upon learning the news, Yue Zhuoqun ordered Xu Shiji to lead a large army to bypass Luoyang along the Yellow River and ambush Li Shimin on his march.

At the same time, he took Wanwan and entered Luoyang City first.

The Luoyang Gang is the largest gang in Luoyang City.

The gang leader, Shangguan Long, was a collaborator sent by Xu Kaishan, the leader of the Great Ming Cult, to the Yin Kui Sect, and could be considered a half-disciple of the Yin Kui Sect.

Guided by Wanwan, Yue Zhuoqun went straight to the headquarters of the Luoyang Gang.

"Greetings, Holy Maiden." Shangguan Long dared not be the slightest bit disrespectful to Wanwan.

Wanwan is known as a witch or enchantress in the martial arts world, but she is indeed considered a saint in the Yin Kui Sect and even the Demonic Sect.

"This is His Majesty the Holy Ruler!" Wanwan introduced Yue Zhuoqun with a haughty expression.

Shangguan Long's body trembled, and he became even more cautious, bowing respectfully: "Greetings, Your Majesty."

"No need for formalities!" Yue Zhuoqun nodded and got straight to the point: "My purpose in coming here is to have you lead the Luoyang gang to create chaos and cooperate with the Wagang army to open the gates of Luoyang."

"This……"

"What, are you in a difficult position?" Yue Zhuoqun narrowed his eyes and asked in a cold voice.

Shangguan Long's expression stiffened as he explained, "Your Majesty, you may not know this, but Wang Shichong is a senior member of the Great Ming Cult. Should we consult the Cult Master before dealing with him?"

The title "Great Ming Sect Master" is not only the title of the sect's leader, but also the name of the sect.